Southern California -- this just in

4 females found dead in San Clemente home

Authorities said this morning that four people -- all females -- were killed in what detectives believe was a domestic dispute in an exclusive gated community in San Clemente.

The females were all believed to be from the same family, and there were reports from the scene that at least one of the victims was a child. They were apparently found lying together in a hallway on the second floor of the home.

The victims have not been identified.

Deputies responded shortly before 2
p.m. Monday on a "welfare check" at a house on Calle Sonador and found the
victims inside, said Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Orange County
Sheriff's Department.

"We are conducting an active death investigation," Amormino said.

He
said that the crime was confined to the house. "There's no killer out
there," he said. "The incident is contained to that residence."

The incident occurred in the upscale Talega neighborhood in the eastern part of San Clemente.

Neighbors apparently alerted the home's owner about a possible domestic
dispute. He then called deputies to check on the residents because he
felt like "something just wasn't right," Amormino said.